Rose, By no means am I in favour of the arena but this article is a terrible comparison. Hockey or any other sport in Phoenix is not in the same league as hockey in Toronto. For a quick snapshot of the two markets (US vs Canada) check out: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?id=27138

When that article was written, the Cdn dollar was worth 20% less than the US dollar and the Cdn teams STILL had revenue 2-3x their US counterparts. With modern exchange rates and a US recession, I'd imagine this gap is currently 3-6x the US counterparts. Just ridiculous.

The NHL is already a dysfunctional league that has stubbornly expanded into US markets hoping to score tv revenue. It hasn't worked out and they're paying the price for it. They should relocate the struggling franchises back to Canada.

That being said, this arena shouldn't get built with public money... and any private backer would be dumb to do this without a commitment from the NHL.

New proposal is supposed to be 100% privately funded. Need to wait for more details but it looks like the development fees would be upfront instead of spreadout over 20+ years. Hence no requirement for a loan.

The option proposes that GTA Centre, LP would be responsible for funding all costs towards the construction of the GTA Centre above a maximum amount of $162.5 million, which the City of Markham would facilitate through receiving private sector developer contributions.

As a result, the City of Markham would no longer need to borrow $325 million – as in the original financial framework option that was approved by an 11-2 vote by city council in April 2012 that has become controversial and the main sticking point for opponents of the financial framework.

“We believe that our new option should be considered seriously by Council members,” said W. Graeme Roustan, Chairman and CEO, GTA Sports & Entertainment. “I have met with several private sector developers who support the GTA Centre and want to make financial contributions to the city towards its development. I am very confident that the City of Markham will come up with a satisfactory way to receive the contributions from the private sector developers.”

I haven't been on for a while. Anything produced by Roustan has to be checked. The development fees are still on the backs of new homeowners. More announcements are being made daily because of the Markham residents and Councillors who opposed the financial framework. The next big meeting is this Tuesday night and the supposed Memorandum of Understanding hasn't been seen by residents yet. Even if all the money came from private investors - has anyone thought to ask who is paying for the infrastructure costs? i.e. Hwy 407 ramp extension? Why would the City do business with someone with a fraud charge and several complaints of bad business dealings?